Daily WHUFC News - 24th December 2012

JC happy to be back
WHUFC.com
Jack Collison made his first appearance of the season in Saturday's 2-1 home
defeat by Everton
23.12.2012

Jack Collison was left with mixed emotions after making his return to action
after six months on the sidelines in Saturday's 2-1 Barclays Premier League
defeat by Everton. The midfielder was introduced as a late substitute at the
Boleyn Ground, but was unable to help the Hammers fashion a late equaliser.
However, after so long out nursing a knee condition, Collison was naturally
delighted to pull on a claret and blue shirt again for the first time since
last season's npower Championship Play-Off final. West Ham TV caught up
with the No10 after the game. "I feel good. After playing 45 minutes with
the reserves the other day and getting some time on Saturday makes me know
that if I'm needed, I've got some time under my belt. It's great to be out
there. I really enjoyed my football last year, I was in the team most weeks
and it's been a bit of a blow to miss the start of the season, but the boys
have been fantastic so far and it's great to come back into a squad that's
playing well."

Collison has been out for seven months and he spoke of the difficulty of
sitting on the sidelines as West Ham returned to the Barclays Premier
League. "It's been very frustrating but I've had my fair share of injuries
to deal with in the past, so you could say I've used my experience a little
bit to help me through it. Now I'm trying to get myself fit and raring to
go."

Collison's desire to return to first-team action is clear and he said that
his knee is feeling stronger every day, adding: "It feels great at the
moment so hopefully it will continue to improve and I can get some more
minutes and continue training so that hopefully in a few weeks they can
throw me in [from the start]."

Concentrating on Saturday's defeat, the Wales international felt West Ham
were unforunate to finish empty-handed. The Hammers lost, despite going
ahead through Carlton Cole's first-half goal, with the striker's
controversial red card not helping matters. Looking forward, Collison is
determined to pick up a positive result at Reading next Saturday, having
been sent-off in the 3-0 defeat by the Royals at the Madejski Stadium last
season. "I think we were a bit unlucky to not come away with anything on
Saturday. I thought it was a fairly even game and little moments settled it.
The second goal was a little bit unfortunate but we've come away with
nothing and we will pick ourselves up. We haven't got a game at Arsenal on
Boxing Day now so we can recharge and get ready for Reading.
"We're going to Reading ready to prove a point because they turned us over
twice last year. The away match was probably my least favourite game last
year, so for me personally I'd love to get any time on pitch. I know, as a
squad, we are looking to go there and really give it to them this year."

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Cole hopes common sense prevails in red card row
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 23rd December 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham striker Carlton Cole insists that referee Anthony Taylor was wrong
to send him off during yesterday's 2-1 home defeat against Everton. The
United number nine was as shocked as everyone else in the 35,000 crowd to be
sent off by card-happy referee Taylor in the second half of yesterday's
Premier League clash with the Toffees after catching Leighton Baines with a
high boot. And Cole - who faces a two-match suspension as a result of the
dismissal - has urged the FA too see sense and reverse Taylor's decision.
Speaking via his Twitter account tonight, Cole said: "Hopefully something
can be done to rescind it. For me it wasn't even a challenge because I
didn't see Bainsey behind me. I was honestly trying to bring the ball down
from the air, so hopefully the FA can see that."

Sam Allardyce, who confirmed last night that the club would seek to overturn
the decision was absolutely furious at the decision which, he insisted, cost
his team not just the services of Cole for the rest of the match but also
all three points. "You're looking for consistency from a referee and we
didn't get that today, which had a massive effect on the result," he said.
"It's how quickly the referee got the red card out, he couldn't wait. He
never deliberated over the decision, he never did anything."

Everton boss David Moyes, who later saw Darron Gibson dismissed for a
similar offence in equally dubious circumstances also plans to appeal
against the red card. "I think you'd say there's a genuine reason why you
could appeal that," he said. "You don't want to appeal and then find you've
got an extra game added to it, but i don't think you can put the word
frivolous next to that appeal."

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Allardyce on... Everton
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 23rd December 2012
By: Staff Writer

Unsurprisingly perhaps given the circumstances a furious Sam Allardyce laid
into hapless referee Anthony Taylor in his post-match press conference,
which we once again bring you exclusively in full...

Sam: There were over 35,000 spectators today and I think only one person
thought that [Carlton Cole's dismissal] was a red card?

Yes; it's difficult to take, isn't it. The comparison I would make is the
challenge by [Victor] Anichebe on James Collins after 32 minutes. There was
very little difference between that challenge and Carlton Cole's challenge,
which is at a slightly different angle but they're the same types of
challenges. One goes without a booking or talking to and the other is a
straight red when there is little or no difference between the two
incidents.

You're looking for consistency from a referee in the same game and we didn't
get that today, which had a massive effect on the result. We have to take
that on the chin whilst the punishment is twofold for us. We'll probably
appeal [against the decision] - and hopefully we'll get off - but if we
don't then we lose Carlton for the next game and that's bitterly
disappointing.

The result is bitterly disappointing because it's been affected. We don't
know what would have happened after that - we might have gone and won it, it
might have ended in a draw of Everton might have won it - but the fact of
the matter is that if you've lost you want to lose by your own faults, not
by the referees. I felt we lost the game today by the referee's decision to
send Carlton off. It's a difficult pill for us to swallow based on our
circumstances at the moment.

David Moyes suggested he would speak to you after the game and see if you
would appeal?

Well I am. I just said I am. I didn't think [Darron] Gibson's was a red card
either but there you go. We've suffered at the hands of those decisions
today and after [scoring] a really good goal to get us in front. The
position, the circumstances we're in at the moment any positive result for
us would have been great.

We're suffering badly at the moment with injuries and illnesses without
having those decisions go against us. We'll just have to battle on and,
hopefully, get the players back as quickly as we can to strengthen the squad
and the team. We'll look forward to Reading next week, try and go there and
get a positive result and move on.

What David Moyes was suggesting was that a joined appeal would in some sense
have even more strength if you're in total agreement?

Well, I'm not so sure they'll take any notice of that; the panel takes each
incident as they see it and I'm not so sure you can make any comparisons.

For me, when you're looking at a player who puts a foot up you ask "has he
done it on purpose? Has he meant to do it?" If you look at Carlton's
incident from the start, his eyes are completely focused on the ball. As the
ball travels over his head he follows the ball with his eyes, then he turns
and puts his foot up. Baines comes from what we call the blind side and
heads the ball after Carlton's touched it with his foot.

But it's how quickly the referee got the red card out, he couldn't wait. He
never deliberated over the decision, he never did anything. Like I said,
when, after 32 minutes, Anichebe done an overhead side volley straight into
James Collins' neck (or head) and he's heading the ball like Baines did -
and nothing's given - it's those inconsistencies that are a real problem for
us. We've suffered at the hands of the referee.

There's nothing much we can do about the result but we can appeal and
hopefully we can get Carlton down to a yellow card, or off [completely].

And if the FA hears similar remarks from you and Moyes then..?

Well maybe, I don't know; it goes to an independent panel, the decision's
made relatively quickly and we can wait and see. We'll just have to see what
the outcome is.

Our disappointment today is that we haven't got anything from the game. It
would have been nice for us had Kevin Nolan, our inspirational captain at
the moment, just knocked that one in at the end. Our best chance of the game
fell to Kev and I thought "go on Kev, stick it in and make us all feel a
little bit better" - but unfortunately it just went the wrong side of the
post.
We could have come off with a 2-2 [draw], picked up another point and still
be concerned about what's happened with the ref but not ended up without any
points today.

As the manager how do you control your emotions when you see something like
that happen when you feel a sense of injustice?

I have to say that's it's very difficult to control your emotions at the
time it happens - and it's difficult to control your emotions after. All I
can do is follow the right channels, so I'll be asking the referee's bosses
what they think of these decisions. I need to be satisfied that I get the
answers or the discussion that I'm looking for, and debate it.

I'd be very disappointed if I thought that, at the end of that, we weren't
trying to make sure that we're helping to make the referees better. Unlike
perhaps a lot of managers, I would want to know the total discussion from
the delegate to the referees and from the referees to Mike Riley - or
whoever his coach is. I want to know what he's saying, what he's thinking
about what happened today and what the way forward would be for Anthony
Taylor.

Did you try and talk to the referee at all after?

I spoke to the referee but that's between me and him. Like I said, we'll go
through the channels of reporting in terms of the system that we have in
place. I 'll take that up, pursue it quite vigorously and see what answers
they give me.

The referee has a split decision to make and it's very difficult for him
because he doesn't have a replay and he doesn't have slow motion. He's in
the position he's in so he has a very difficult job. But if he's not getting
the right feedback or the right coaching and is told, "alright son, you've
done okay, carry on" - then they've got a big problem.

Do you think there should be a system where the fourth official, for
instance, is watching the game on television so he can communicate to the
referee?

We put TVs in the dugouts in 2005 and had them ripped out by the Premier
League in 2006. It shows you just how backward they are. In fact we had two
TVs in the dugout; one was on a ten-second delay and one showed a replay of
the incident.

What did you think of the performance other than the referee?

I thought that our first half performance was good, as was the goal we
scored that got us in front against a very good Everton team. Based on the
circumstances with the players I thought everybody gave everything they had
today. Carlton, with how well he's playing at the moment always kept us in
the game. Territorially you might say that Everton had an advantage - as you
would expect with where they are, the players they've got and the time
they've been in the Premier League - but in [terms of] chances created we
created as much as them.

Modibo Maiga came on and Carlton gave him a cross that he hit and it just
clipped an Everton player. It went wide of the post but instead of getting a
corner a goal kick was given. Then, like I said, Kevin got the one at the
end that was the best chance of the game. Our defending was very good again
and we probed and tried to get forward whenever we could and, in the end,
the game was in the balance [until Cole's sending off].

Gary O'Neil played injured today; he had a groin injury from the start. We
had nobody else when Guy Demel went down with sickness this morning on top
of all the other injuries. What we had [available] was on the pitch - ten
players fit and one who about 80 per cent fit. We also had Jack Collison,
who hasn't kicked a ball since the play-off Final and Alou Diarra who hasn't
kicked a ball for over three months, that's how 'bare bones' we are at the
minute.

The medical staff are busier than us coaches and managers at the moment. We
can't coach the players because we can't afford any more injuries, so we
can't do any training at the minute. We can only keep the players fit and
ready to go for Reading. If we try to do any training, shape or build-up
we'll get contact beetween players - and if contact between players happen
you risk injuries so we can't do that.

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West Ham's injury crisis has forced Sam Allardyce to ban full-contact
training
Last Updated: December 23, 2012 1:38pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has banned full-contact training in a
desperate bid to stop the club's injury crisis from worsening. Guy Demel sat
out Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Everton due to illness and he was joined on the
sidelines by Andy Carroll, Mohamed Diame, Yossi Benayoun and Ricardo Vaz Te.
Long-term injury victims Alou Diarra and Jack Collison were rushed back onto
the bench, while Carlton Cole will now be absent for three matches after
being controversially sent-off at Upton Park. The postponement of the Boxing
Day match at Arsenal has given West Ham a chance to patch up their players
and Allardyce admits the club cannot cope if there are any more absentees.
"We had 10 players who were fit and one was about 80% fit and that was all
we had," Allardyce said. "We had Jack Collison, who hasn't kicked a ball
since the play-off final and Alou Diarra, who hasn't kicked a ball in three
months, that is how bare bones we are at the moment. "Medical staff are
busier than us as coaches at the moment. We can't afford any more contact or
any more injuries, so we can't even do any training. "If we try to do any
training and try to do any shape or build-up for Reading, we will get
contact between players and, if you get contact between players, you risk
injury and we can't do that. "We can't even get out on the field and do a
bit of coaching at the moment."

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West Ham and Everton unite in disappointment at abject performance by ref
Taylor
By GRAHAM POLL
PUBLISHED: 23:34, 23 December 2012 | UPDATED: 23:34, 23 December 2012
Daily Mail

The season of goodwill to all men started this weekend and referees tested
that sentiment with a number of baffling decisions. Red cards and penalties
were the main bones of contention but one assistant referee standing up to
be counted in the battle against the holding and blocking at set pieces
looked at odds with the rest of his colleagues.

Referees know that they will seldom drive home with praise ringing in their
ears but it is unusual to incur the wrath of both managers and all 35,000
fans in attendance. However, Anthony Taylor managed exactly that after a
poor display of officiating at Upton Park. The red cards shown to Carlton
Cole and Darron Gibson were, at very best, extremely harsh, particularly
that of the West Ham striker who watched the ball through the air. Whilst
his foot was high I could not see any reason to dismiss him. I think Taylor
reacted too quickly to what he thought he saw rather than wait and reflect;
the best referees, rather like the best players, appear to have more time
than others.

Taylor is a good referee who had a bad day and should look at his more
experienced colleagues and learn from them – in particular Howard Webb, who
is excellent at taking his time to give himself the best possibility of
getting decisions correct - as he did at St Mary's when waving away the home
team's penalty appeals.

Mike Dean is another excellent referee enjoying a good season but he angered
Reading boss Brian McDermott at the Etihad on Saturday. I had a little
sympathy for McDermott who's team had battled well at the home of the
Champions and deserved a penalty. McDermott wanted the kick for a block on
Jay Tabb but I felt the penalty should have been awarded for handball by a
City defender before contact was made with Tabb.

Of course, McDermott's mood was not helped by conceding the only goal of the
game to a Gareth Barry header. There was nothing wrong with Dean's judgement
with that goal despite McDermott's insistence that Barry had climbed on
Nicky Shorey's shoulders. Barry was merely more determined to win the ball,
which disappointingly Shorey made no attempt to play.

As usual the claim was made that the referee was favouring the 'big team', a
view which was unfounded at the Etihad but did hold water up the road at
Wigan. Roberto Martinez has often complained about rough justice and after
having a soft, but correct, penalty awarded against him he was denied two,
clearer penalties for handball by referee Jon Moss.

Martinez is an intelligent manager who knows the laws and perceptively
stated that neither Kieran Gibbs nor Thomas Vermaelen had their arms in
natural positions when they blocked Wigan shots – exactly the phrase
referees are asked to consider at possible hand ball situations. Finally, we
return to Upton Park, where the first decision of the game probably set the
tone for the match when after just four minutes Everton had a goal
disallowed for a block on the West Ham keeper. The offence by Victor
Anichebe was a minor infringement and apparently given by assistant Gary
Beswick, who was almost 50 yards away and looking through players and a goal
post. Worse holding offences happened all over the country and went
unpunished and Beswick must realise that a consistent approach is required.
Let's hope that our beleaguered match officials get what they are hoping for
tomorrow before returning to action on Boxing Day.

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Allardyce seeks instant justice by laptop after seeing red over referee
West Ham United 1 Everton 2
KEVIN GARSIDE SUNDAY 23 DECEMBER 2012
The Independent

The time for interactive decision-making is upon us, says Sam Allardyce.
Goal-line technology does not go far enough for the West Ham manager who,
seething after a red card for Carlton Cole with his team's match against
Everton poised at 1-1, called for the introduction of real-time challenges
to refereeing decisions, as in tennis.

Big Sam would press a button, the ruling would go to the video referee in
the stands, who would then proceed via slow-motion replays towards the
truth.

Allardyce pointed to the discrepancy in Anthony Taylor's decision-making
which resulted in red cards for West Ham's Carlton Cole and Everton's Darron
Gibson yet nothing for Victor Anichebe, who appeared to commit the same
offence by challenging James Collins with a raised foot.

"Not many will remember the Anichebe incident because it comes and goes
without punishment," Allardyce said.

"I go straight to my laptop – we record the game so we can look at any
incident immediately – and Anichebe has volleyed James Collins in the neck.
Nothing happened, so nobody remembers it. The other two get straight reds.
This is the problem. The difference is far too great.

"The only way to make things better for us all is to bring technology into
it. We should be allowed two or three challenges a game. Forget about your
old Platinis, who are antiquated. I know they are in strong positions and
they affect the game but they are not doing us any favours by not allowing
technology to come into play. The technology today, like they have in
tennis, means it is all done in two minutes at the most."

Allardyce makes a reasonable point. If technology is available, aids
officials and contributes positively to outcomes, then there is no sane
argument against its introduction. Whether it would ease the pain of a
manager in defeat is another question.

Allardyce focused on the decisions of the referee to explain the result when
a more profitable route might be to examine how Everton play the game. Video
recordings of Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar would show how they controlled
the tempo of this match through intelligent movement and the playing of ball
to feet before the loss of Cole for a high challenge on Leighton Baines in
the 67th minute.

Too often the default option for West Ham was to seek the right foot of Mark
Noble to launch a long, diagonal punt in search of quick rewards. It rarely
came off. Everton's slick approach work did not always bear fruit either,
but on balance they created more chances and looked far easier on the eye
doing so. Indeed, West Ham went ahead in the 14th minute using that very
template, Matthew Taylor finding Cole, who cut inside John Heitinga to
score.

Anichebe had already headed Everton level before Cole departed. Yes, Pienaar
and Osman combined beautifully to edge Everton in front with 17 minutes
remaining, but twice in the last 10 minutes Kevin Nolan fashioned chances to
score. In the second of those, in added time, Nolan had only the goalkeeper
to beat and missed the target completely. No laptop review was required to
identify that error, yet there was no mention of it from Allardyce.

Naturally, the Everton manager, David Moyes, thought the worst decision of
the afternoon went against his team when Osman's header was ruled out for an
infringement on the goalkeeper by Anichebe. The video replay showed the
linesman to be right about an arm holding on to Jussi Jaaskelainen. Perhaps
referees should join in the call for a laptop law to prove to managers that
they get the majority of decisions spot on.

Match facts
West Ham: JAASKELAINEN 7/10, TOMKINS 6, COLLINS 7, REID 7, O'BRIEN 7, O'NEIL
6, TAYLOR 7, NOBLE 7, JARVIS 8, NOLAN 6, COLE 8

Everton: HOWARD 7, BAINES 7, DISTIN 7, JAGIELKA 6, HEITINGA 5, OSMAN 8,
PIENAAR 9, NEVILLE 7, GIBSON 6, ANICHEBE 6, JELAVIC 7

Goals: West Ham United Cole 18 Everton Anichebe 64, Pienaar 73. Subs: West
Ham Maiga 6 (O'Neil, 58), Spence (O'Brien, 80), Collison (Jarvis, 88).
Everton Naismith (Neville, 84), Oviedo (Pienaar, 88), Duffy (Anichebe, 90).
Booked: West Ham Maiga. Sent off: West Ham Cole (67). Everton Gibson (90).
Man of the match Pienaar. Match rating 8/10. Possession: West Ham 38%
Everton 62%. Attempts on target: West Ham 5 Everton 8. Referee A Taylor
(Greater Manchester). Att 35,005.

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West Ham and Everton supporters unite to scorn referee Andrew Taylor
• Taylor's two red cards spark Upton Park controversy
• Home and away fans chant: 'You're not fit to referee'
Mark Tallentire at Upton Park
The Guardian, Sunday 23 December 2012 22.58 GMT

It is a rare day when both sets of fans chant "You don't know what you're
doing" in the referee's direction at the final whistle, but that was the
situation facing Andrew Taylor when he and his assistants headed for the
dressing room after their afternoon's work on Saturday.

His dismissal of West Ham's Carlton Cole for a high challenge on Leighton
Baines after 67 minutes raised eyebrows and a red card for the visitors'
Darron Gibson after something similar on Mark Noble in injury time drew boos
from the home supporters and saw the Everton fans applaud the derision as
the Irishman departed, with both sets uniting in a burst of "You're not fit
to referee."

All in a day's work for some, and despite coming from behind for the ninth
time in 18 league games this season, it left David Moyes annoyed that his
Everton team's slick performance would be overshadowed by the controversy
and his opposite number Sam Allardyce suggesting changes to the way football
is officiated.

"I said to Sam on the touchline it wasn't a sending-off for Cole in my eyes
and he said the same about Gibson," said Moyes, who is minded to appeal
jointly with the West Ham manager. "It will have affected them more than us
obviously, because Cole was sent off a bit earlier in the game."

Allardyce stirred the pot, throwing in a barb at the Uefa president for good
measure: "The only way to make it better for us all is to bring technology
into it. I've always said two or three [video] challenges would be in our
favour if we were allowed it. Forget about your [Michel] Platinis, who are
antiquated. They are not doing us any favours. [Decisions] affect results
and there's £65m [in TV money] coming [for Premier League clubs] next year.
Like cricket, the technology means it's done in less than two minutes at the
absolute most. We used to have two TVs in the dugout in 2005 and had them
ripped out by the Premier League in 2006. It used to be a big help with
refereeing decisions."

Though the two dismissals may have adversely affected the flow of the game
and will hinder both managers' preparations for the remaining Christmas
games, Everton would have welcomed a video challenge of the decision to
disallow Leon Osman's thumping header from a Baines corner which was chalked
off by a linesman for a block on the goalkeeper by Victor Anichebe. "It's
something Kevin Nolan probably does every week but the one time we do it …"
Osman said later. "The ref just passed the buck and said the linesman gave
it. The little decisions in the box seem to go against us."

Two minutes later Everton fell behind to a low 20-yarder from Cole,who
turned Johnny Heitinga inside and out, but with Nikica Jelavic low on
confidence and horribly out of form, Moyes's side could not fashion an
equaliser until Anichebe met Steven Pienaar's cross with a flicked header 20
minutes into the second half.

Moyes has had to make do and mend more times than he would care to remember
and having deservedly taken the three points thanks to a run to the byline
by Osman and a cut-back which was eventually bundled in by Pienaar, he now
faces the need to tweak what was already an improvised 4-4-2 to cover for
the suspended Marouane Fellaini and the hamstrung right-back Seamus Coleman.

"We decided to go with the two boys up front and altered what we have done
and won in another fashion," said Moyes, who now must prepare for Wigan's
visit on Boxing Day. "I have learnt you can't just have one way of playing
in the Premier League. As the season goes on, injuries and suspensions take
their toll. I think it was a good lift for us, to win without Marouane in
the team."

That made it 10 games since a West Ham side last defeated Everton, and
Allardyce took it badly. "It's difficult to take," said the home manager,
lamenting Nolan's missed opportunity when clean through in injury time.
"Anichebe's [high-ish] challenge on James Collins after 30 minutes and 20
seconds went without a booking or a talking-to. There's little or no
difference between the two incidents. If you've lost it you want to do so by
your own default, not the referee's, and I think we lost today by the
referee's decision."

Allardyce, who has failed to fill his bench in recent games but who finally
gave Jack Collison a first airing since the play-off final in May, also
cited a lack of options and how it is affecting preparations. "We can't
train the players or coach the players at the moment because we can't afford
any more contact and we can't afford any more injuries," he said. "We can
only keep the players fit and ready to go because if we try to do any shape
or try to do any build-up for Reading [on Saturday] we get contact between
players and risk injuries." January cannot come too soon for him.

Man of the match Leon Osman (Everton)

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